


Children; horrible taxing burdens

by PrimalVendingMachine



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Chloe POV, Deckerstar - Freeform, Deckerstar Christmas, Deckerstarbaby, Domestic Deckerstar, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, Luicfer POV, Soft Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:22:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26331856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrimalVendingMachine/pseuds/PrimalVendingMachine
Summary: He walked into the penthouse and placed his jacket on the couch, and immediately went to the bar and poured himself a generous splash of whiskey. The night was too beautiful to enjoy it from inside the penthouse so he savoured his drink as he took in the L.A sky-line, the view was truly one of the best perks of keeping this place.Lucifer turned as he heard the pitter patter of naked feet on the marble floors.  Perhaps he would be getting lucky tonight. “What took you so long?” He says with a devilish grin on his face and sin on his mind. Instead of the woman he hoped to soon be sharing his bed with, he met the dark brown gaze of the Child.
Relationships: Chloe Decker & Lucifer Morningstar, Dan Espinoza & Lucifer Morningstar, Trixie Espinoza & Lucifer Morningstar
Comments: 12
Kudos: 124





	1. Chapter 1

It had been a long day, all Lucifer wanted was a drink and if his luck kept up, maybe even a good shag.  
He walked into the penthouse and placed his jacket on the couch, and immediately went to the bar and poured himself a generous splash of whiskey. The night was too beautiful to enjoy it from inside the penthouse so he savoured his drink as he took in the L.A sky-line, the view was truly one of the best perks of keeping this place.  
Lucifer turned as he heard the pitter patter of naked feet on the marble floors. Perhaps he would be getting lucky tonight. “What took you so long?” He says with a devilish grin on his face and sin on his mind. Instead of the woman he hoped to soon be sharing his bed with, he met the dark brown gaze of the Child. 

“Child?” Lucifer asks cocking an eyebrow and looking at the little girl with wild curly brown hair, currently wearing an oversized T-shirt. “I woke up, and I couldn’t go back to sleep” she says with an exaggerated pout.  
“I see Lucifer says”, pounding the rest of his whiskey in one gulp, he walks back into the apartment and sits on the couch. There truly never was any rest for the wicked. “Do you know where my Mummy is?” She says in a small voice as she comes to sit beside him.  
“I’ve no idea where your mother is Child, but perhaps I could be of assistance, what is it that you desire?” He asks as he half-heatedly pushes the child away from himself. Lucifer asks this question mostly as a joke, his devilish charms as he’d once called them (much to the Detective’s dismay), had never worked on the Child’s mother and had certainly never worked on the child herself.  
“You’re funny” she says closing the distance between them once again. “Well I’m glad you think so child.” Lucifer looks down at the little girl and finally recognises the shirt, “Do you miss her so greatly?” The child looks down at her oversized unicorn shirt, fat tears welling in her eyes but she doesn't speak only nods.“Child, there’s really no need for you to carry on like this, you’ll see her again before you know it” Lucifer says sensibly, surprised by her the sudden onslaught of tears, but this doesn't stop the tears from streaming down the child's face.  
“That's what you said last time, and it took forever for her to come back” she says accusingly through her sobs. “Child, she’s only away at school, for a few more months, then she’ll come back for the holidays.” The child seems to contemplate his words, and the sobs slowly ebb to sniffles. “Is a few months a long time ?” She says as she looks in his eyes. “Well, Child it can seem very long when one is ever so small as yourself, but I promise you Beatrice will be home in a short while, you know come to think of it, she probably misses you just as much or even more than you miss her”  
This wins him a small smile from the child. “Promise?” She says with unshed tears hanging off her thick lashes. “Of course child, always the truth, you know that.” He says with all seriousness. “I know” she says with her dimpled smile as she climbs into his lap. 

Beatrice had started university four years ago, and as much as it pained him to admit it to himself he did miss the little urchin. However missing her was nothing compared to the pride he felt, true to her word she was well on her way to becoming the president of mars, one more year would see her getting her degree. Then she would be free to apply to be a part of the next generation of brilliant minds taking humanity into the heavens. As he and the Detective had argued over the years, Beatrice leaving for school was what had gotten them into this mess in the first place. He could still remember that day vividly, they had made the 3 hour long trip to Beatrice’s university in 6 hours, because detective douche had to use the facilities every 30 minutes and Beatrice had wanted to see every attraction on the way there. It was an experience he had never since repeated, he always tagged along to see the urchin but insisted on flying instead. When it had come time to say their goodbyes, the Detective had hugged her daughter fiercely, silently weeping, while Dan held Beatrice’s hand. Lucifer had felt like an interloper, no matter how fervently they all assured him that they wanted him there, so he excused himself from the festivities to sit outside the dormitory. He was half-way through his cigarette when someone placed a hand on his shoulder. Beatrice had come outside to sit beside him, and he playfully pushed her away like he had done through all those years, not knowing how else to communicate what he was feeling. He had watched the little terror grow from barely past his waist to the young woman sitting beside him today. 

“Im going to miss you so much Lucifer” she said surprising him. He sniggered at her words “Please, urchin lets not pretend like thats true” he said avoiding her eyes. She giggled and put her hand back on his shoulder, “ I really am Lucifer, remember always the truth with you.” “Thank you Beatrice, I suppose your absence will put a damper on things” he said finishing his cigarette, suddenly in a wistful mood. She bumped her shoulder into his, “I know thats just your Lucifer way of saying you’ll miss me too, so I’ll allow it” “Ha, don’t be preposterous child” he said starting to get up, but Beatrice held him back with her hand. “I wanted to thank you” she said with gravity. “Not this again child” he said with a dismissive grunt. “No seriously Lucifer, I really wanted to thank you, you didn’t have to pay for my tuition”she said in a small voice.  
“I thought we had agreed that was a loan, you little cheat” he said trying to make light of the situation knowing fully well he would never take a penny of that money back from her. “Then what about the driving lessons,?” She said teary eyed. “As I recall we made a deal, that I would teach you to drive when you were 7 or so, I was merely fulfilling my end of the deal” “What about the new car?” She said now laughing “I’m probably the only freshman in the world with their own corvette.” “Come now Beatrice, you don’t think I would let you ride in public transportation? That would be unseemly, only the best for my daught..” He had stopped himself from completing the word but she had already heard. Uncomfortable, he stood and gave her a curt nod “ I’ll just collect your mother and Dan, so we can be on our way” he said straightening his jacket. She surprised him once again by enveloping him in a tight hug, which he returned as fiercely as she did. “I love you Lucifer” she said into his jacket. He placed a hand over her head and pulled her closer, “If you ever, ever need anything urchin, do not hesitate to call me.” And if the devil shed a tear then, she would never know. He held her for a while longer after which he said “enough of all this now” trying to lighten the mood, as Dan and the Detective joined them outside. “Right, shall we?” he said extending his arm to the Detective. Beatrice followed them to the car, wiping away her and her mothers tears on the way there. Lucifer opted to drive on the way back so he climbed into the drivers seat, and started the car immediately not wanting to spend anymore time than necessary around all the weeping. Dan and the Detective had shouted last minute words of advice on complete nonsense. Who cared about the boring things like libraries and health insurance? “Give the child information that she could actually use, not all this drivel” he said to himself. His parting words to her had been “Give me a ring when you decide you want a good night out, I’m sure I could arrange something” which got him a scowl from Dan, a half-hearted eye roll from the Detective and a beaming smile from Beatrice. 

Four weeks later, Lucifer and the detective had gotten the shock of their lives.  
Lucifer had been out carousing with Amenadiel, as he usually did these days. Father help him, but he had really grown to appreciate having a brother that he mildly …tolerated. These nights of booze and drawing out the desires of humanity all ended in the same way, with Lucifer entangled in the Detectives arms. He had not been so content in eons. Speaking of his contentment, Lucifer could hardly wait to climb into bed. “Detective!” he practically screamed from the elevator doors. “Detectivvveeee” he shouted louder throwing his jacket onto the floor. Odd, she had said she would be spending the night in bed, she was still getting used to having the child away from her and was a bit blue and not really acting like herself. Perhaps she was already sleeping, he would just have to join her in bed and be more thorough in his attempts at waking her. “Detective” he said sultrily as he made his way into the bedroom expecting to find her curled in his bed. A scene that had yet to stop taking his breath away no matter how many times he had seen it. She wasn't in the bedroom. “Detective!” he exclaimed already on high alert, why wasn't she answering him if she was in the apartment and if she wasn't where on earth was she.  
He cautiously entered the bathroom where he found her sitting on the closed toilet lid. “Detective” he said bending to kiss her with the relief he felt. “Why didn't you answer? Why are you sitting in the bathroom ?” He asked, as he noticed her tears. “Detective?, whats happened, is it Beatrice? Your mother? Miss Lopez? ” She only shakes her head. “Then what is it?” He asked now with irritation. “Lucifer ..” She said avoiding his eyes, trying to wipe her tears away. “What is it, detective you're scaring me” he said as he pulled her off the toilet for an embrace. “Whatever it is that has you in this state, simply cannot be half as bad as you imagine. So just tell me Detective.” At that she pulled away from him “Lucifer I’m..” “You're what ?” She let the silence hang between them. “What in fathers name is going on Detective?” He said holding her gently by her shoulders. “Lucifer, Ive been feeling so weird since Trixie left and …”  
Relief flooded his veins at once, she simply missed her child “Is that it Detective, you miss the spawn? Well then in that case, thats easily rectified, we’ll simply book the next flight to go see her. But in the mean time how about I give you something else to think about?” He said wagging his eyebrows. “No, Lucifer..” “No? …Okay, Detective you’ve twisted my arm, in that case you’ll give me something to think about” despite herself the Detective gave him a small chuckle. “Thats better Detective, come along to bed now” he said starting back towards the bedroom, the Detective however refused to be pulled along by the arm. Lucifer smiled to himself, the devil’s girlfriend had always been challenging. “How about if I promise to make it worth your while Detective?” He said kissing his way up her hand.  
“Lucifer, I’m pregnant” she said looking down at the floor.  
The chortle that escaped from him was entirely involuntary. “Excuse, me ?” He said looking at her oddly, “Detective we both know thats not possible”  
“Don’t you think I know that? Lucifer I’ve taken more than 10 tests over the past week.”  
“Well then you’ll just have to take some more, they’re obviously all wrong, it's simply not possible.” He said running his fingers through his hair.  
“That’s not true Lucifer, Charlie is proof of that.”  
“Charlie? I suppose thats right Detective, but one small hiccup with that theory, Amenadiel was mortal when Charlie was conceived, I haven't been vulnerable, in that way around you for years”  
“So there must be another explanation for all of this, we simply have to get you to a doctor to fix whatever is going on and then Bob’s your uncle.”he said clapping his hands together in finality.  
“I know its hard to believe, I was having trouble believing it myself, thats why I wanted to wait to tell you until I got the results from my blood test back today, as complicated as it might be for you to grasp, and as crazy as it sounds, I am pregnant Lucifer.”  
Lucifer remained silent for what felt like years, his previously jovial mood now completely gone.  
“What are you thinking ?” The Detective said looking at him with trepidation.  
Lucifer ran both hands through his hair dishevelling it even more, “Im thinking...., Bloody hell, I’m thinking I need a stiff drink Detective”  
“You’re not angry at me?” She said with her voice breaking.  
“Detective,… Chloe, of course not, I’m not angry at you” he said caressing her face with one hand.  
It's me I’m angry at he said internally, how could this have happened?  
“But you’re not happy are you?”  
“Detective…I’m, hmm, I don’t know, truth be told Detective I don’t know what I am” he said pulling her into a hug.  
Of all the things that Lucifer had expected to come out of the Detectives mouth, this was the last, right after a scenario of her telling him that she wanted to marry detective douche again. A child!, what in fathers name were they going to do with one, more importantly what was he going to do with one? No, he mentally admonished himself, father definitely had no part in what he and the detective had done over a thousand times and in a thousand different positions. This was entirely of their own doing. Lucifer could barely wrap his head around the fact that there was going to be a child and here the detective was asking him if he was happy about said child, that wasn’t even a remote possibility up until 5 minutes ago. There were a thousand thoughts racing through his mind, a thousand fears and doubts, he had no idea of how to relate to a child any child, talk less of being responsible for one, what were they going to do. Old fears of unworthiness and disappointing the ones that mattered most came back to haunt him. He squeezed the Detective harder. What if the child came out like him? What if his child hated him as much as he had hated his own father. What kind of father could the devil be? True he had managed to maintain his relationship with the Detective but she was special in so many ways. It had taken a miracle for him to love once, he wasn’t sure his father would be so accommodating the second time around. He had been so consumed by his own silent panic that he hadn’t given any thought to how this must be affecting her. Was she half as scared as he was? Did she also fear for the fate of whatever monstrosity he had placed upon her? Surely whatever he had a hand in making could only be as bad as he was. What if she secretly feared this thing they had made? Of one thing he was sure, he would make sure that Chloe was happy, no matter what difficult choices they would have to make. He realised that he had been quiet for far too long, and the Detective had asked him a question. 

“Ahh, Detective, It's ...complicated, no complicated does even do this situation justice. I’ve never hidden the fact that I’d no desire to sire children, truth be told apart from Beatrice and odd weekends with Charlie, I’ve no experience with them, and we both know what a monumental mess the relationship with my father is,” he took in a steadying breath “but none of that matters, what matters is what you want, and how you’re feeling Detective.” He had delivered his speech with her head tucked underneath his chin, but now he drew back from her needing to see how she was taking this unexpected development. Once more to his surprise, she was smiling sweetly at him.

“I was so scared of your reaction Lucifer, I didn't even stop to think about how I was feeling, but I think I am happy, very happy, because when you think about it, it's quite simple, this baby is something we created, together, a product of our love” she said beaming up at him with a watery smile.  
“So you’d like to keep it? The child of course” he said gesturing to her stomach.  
“Lucifer! Of course I want to keep it! Why would you ask me that?”

Chloe looked at the man she loved with her whole heart, “he looks so lost” she said to herself. Even now she could see the different emotions dancing across his beautifully expressive eyes. Of course he had asked her if she wanted to keep the baby. The only experience he had with parental relationship had ended in rejection. She had expected a colossal meltdown at her news, and his rather calm acceptance really spoke to how much Lucifer had grown. But knowing him, he probably had so many emotions that he was bottling up, so many things and hurts she could not begin to understand and yet he had asked her if she was happy. Sometimes it amazed her just how much he loved her without words. Although she knew how difficult this would be for both of them, most especially Lucifer, he had shown time and time again that he possessed a capacity for love that he didn't believe he was capable of. She was sure that eventually Lucifer’s love would grow to involve the little miracle they themselves had created. As she had told Michael all those years ago she would never lose faith in both of them, and more importantly she would never lose faith in Lucifer.  


Since being in a relationship with the Detective, Lucifer had learnt the meaning of a partnership, what it meant to rely on other person, what it meant to love another person and in some miraculous way have that love returned measure for measure. Despite his fears, her happiness would have to be enough for both of them. 

With this in mind, the Devil said in a very small voice “Detective, you’re going to have to show me how to do everything”

“Of course my love,” she said placing a kiss on his lips “what are partners for?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You were quiet for so long, what were you thinking of ?” She said, her tears long forgotten.  
> “Hmm” he said pursing his lips. She was always so quiet and contemplative whenever they were alone together, both of them orbiting around each other, neither one knowing how to best approach the other without the Detective’s guidance. He had grown to care for the child of course, but their relationship was still so complicated, he decided to humour her.   
> “I was only thinking about the day the Detective told me there was going to be another little urchin jumping on my Italian leather and spilling juice on my marble counter-tops” he said tickling her underneath her chin, eliciting loud laughs from the child.

Lucifer had been so lost in his thoughts that he had forgotten the child now squirming in his lap.   
“Child, could you be so kind as to sit still ? Or better yet why don’t we return you to your bed?”  
“You were quiet for so long, what were you thinking of ?” She said, her tears long forgotten.  
“Hmm” he said pursing his lips. She was always so quiet and contemplative whenever they were alone together, both of them orbiting around each other, neither one knowing how to best approach the other without the Detective’s guidance. He had grown to care for the child of course, but their relationship was still so complicated, but this closeness was nice.   
“I was only thinking about the day the Detective told me there was going to be another little urchin jumping on my Italian leather and spilling juice on my marble counter-tops” he said tickling her underneath her chin, eliciting loud laughs from the child. 

As he watched his laughing child and attempted to dodge her flailing limbs, it struck him again, just how much the Child looked like the Detective, it caught him off guard every day. She had the same beauty spot underneath her right eye, the same peeling laughter and most endearing of all she had even inherited her mothers penchant for eye-rolling. She truly was a little ray of light, and sometimes when he chose to look closely, he even saw parts of himself in her, heaven help the little devil. This wasn't an admission that he made easily as thoughts of her resembling him in any way had once kept him up for many a night before she had been born. 

It had been a long couple of months, Chloe wasn't as young as she was when she had had Trixie, and this second pregnancy was knocking the wind out of her. She was only six months in and she already needed two naps to get through the day. At Lucifer’s behest she had been assigned to desk duty, which left her with ample time to do nothing other than paperwork and laze about during the day. It was during one of these naps that the soft lulling of the piano had woken her. She had always loved listening to Lucifer play piano, something he had done increasingly since she’d gotten pregnant. She was agreeing more and more with Linda, Lucifer certainly did use music to express feelings he could not otherwise communicate. The songs he played in the apartment were nothing like the jaunty ones he played for the good patrons of LUX, the sounds that came from the piano when it was just the two of them were more raw, more Lucifer.   
She awkwardly manoeuvred out of the bed and put on Lucifer’s robe discarded as part of the activities that lead to her needing a nap in the first place. She paused at the doorway, listening to the sweet music drifting through the penthouse. The chords of the song were familiar yet foreign at the same time, the notes having a wistful nature to them. She waddled over to the piano bench, where a bare-chested Lucifer was currently sitting, lost in his musical ministrations and took up the spot that Lucifer always kept empty for her. She gently rested her head against his shoulder after placing a kiss on his arm.  
“Good morning Detective,” he said in a raspy voice, leaning over to give her a heady kiss.   
“It’s hardly morning Lucifer” she said giggling against his mouth.  
“Did I wake you?” He said lifting his hands from the piano keys as he turned to face her fully.  
“No, you didn’t, please don’t stop playing, it's so beautiful.”   
“Oh, it’s hardly beautiful Detective” he said with a half shrug and that adorable dismissive look he got when he received a compliment he particularly liked.   
“Well in my humble opinion, it sounds divine”   
“Yours is the only opinion that matters Detective” he said placing another kiss on her head as he continued to play the same melody.   
“What is it? It sounds so familiar”  
“Hmm?”   
“Lucifer?”  
“Well I suppose it would sound familiar, it is the only song in your repertoire Detective”  
This got him a puzzled look from the Detective. 

“Well, it’s the tune we played together” he said still lightly stroking the keys, “With some of my own modifications that is”   
Now that Lucifer had pointed it out to her, she could pick out some familiar notes of “Heart and Soul.”  
Lucifer continued speaking “I thought this way it would be more soothing as a lullaby” he said with his eyes still trained on the piano. 

“Lucifer” Chloe said with her voice already breaking, “it’s so beautiful.” 

He stopped playing, the last notes drifting off into the night “Detective, what if… what if the child comes out like me?” He said in a very small voice still looking at the piano keys. "I wouldn’t want the child to suffer like I did, I wouldn’t want them to hate themselves. What if I never…” he drew in a shaky breath, “what if I never love it? I know you already love the child so much, I see as you caress your belly what seems like every five minutes, I hear the way you talk to it already as if it can hear you, but I’m afraid I'm not.. I’m not like you Detective. What if he comes out exactly like me, and he finds out I didn’t want him. I couldn't bear it Chloe, I couldn't bear it if he ended up…” he breathed out roughly, “if he ended up There, in hell because of something I did or something I couldn't give him.” 

“Lucifer…”   
This was the first time Lucifer had shared any of his feelings on the baby since the day Chloe had told him she was pregnant. She couldn’t fault him for anything, in all other aspects he had doted over her, quietly holding her hair during the first few months when her morning sickness had kept her bound to the toilet, he’d stoically held her hand through every prenatal appointment, picked Trixie up from the airport almost every week so she could visit, and made her feel wholly loved even on days when she felt like an overfilled water-balloon. But he never directly referred to their baby, and when he did, he only did so in passing as he inquired about her own health. She’d known that he was still processing and coming to terms with the baby, but she didn’t know how dark the thoughts he had been keeping to himself were. All she wanted to do was to somehow help him work through his emotions, but she honestly didn’t know how to even begin, she didn’t have the answers he needed and it broke her heart. Sometimes she wished that she had punched his father twice for what he had done to Lucifer.

“Hmph” Lucifer sighed as he took a long drink from the glass perpetually placed on the piano, drawing her out of her thoughts. “I've had literal eons to come to terms with myself Detective, I still haven’t, not completely. I don’t want that for anyone. I certainly don’t want that for the child.”

“Lucifer” she said grasping his right hand in hers, “You can’t think the baby would end up in hell just because of you?” He was quiet for a while, before he broke her heart even further.

“There are different kinds of hell Detective”

Chloe took a deep breath in, trying to gather her strength so she could lend some of it to Lucifer. Maybe actually having a conversation about their child would help him address some of his fears or maybe talking about it would send him down a darker spiral. She was completely lost as to what the right thing to do at the moment was, she couldn't undo years of insecurities instantaneously, but she need to try to lead him out of the darkness of his own thoughts. As the biggest irony and her hail Mary, she silently prayed to his father to help her find the right words to help his lost son. 

“I’ve been thinking a lot on what you told me about when we dropped Trixie off at college”   
Her remark was met by a very confused look from Lucifer. 

“I’m sorry Detective I don’t see the relevance”

“I’m bringing it up because, well I have a theory” 

“Detective, you and your blasted theories, have you been talking to Amenadiel again?” He says jokingly, but she can see the pain and confusion in his eyes.   
“No, I haven't been talking to Amenadiel, Ive been doing a lot of thinking myself. About you not wanting the baby, I think you’re not being totally honest about that Lucifer. Trixie told me that she’d told you she loved you for the first time after you’d called her your daughter, and”

“Detective….”

She held one finger up to show him that she had more to say on the matter. “and I know how complicated your feelings are Lucifer, But I believe you genuinely love Trixie as you would a child of your own. So what if when threatened with the loss of that relationship, one between a parent and a child in some sense, you subconsciously reverted to old patterns, showing emotional vulnerability as physical vulnerability like you used to do in our relationship. I don't think the timing of this pregnancy is random, I think it coincides perfectly with Trixie leaving. That would mean that perhaps in wanting to keep the child you already had, you maybe gave yourself a child you didn't know you wanted. ”

“That’s quite a theory Detective” 

“It might sound crazy, but I’d like to believe that on some level, no matter how deep, it is true. Otherwise, how would you explain your sudden mortality leading to the conception of this baby?”

“Ahhn” 

She took his right hand in hers, “And about what you said about the baby being like you, that’s not a bad thing at all Lucifer. I personally would love a little boy with his father’s brown eyes and curls or maybe a little girl with his devilish smile.”

“Thats not what I meant Detective and I think you know it…what if I pass it on, my temper, my rage, my devil face, all of it. It’s one thing for me to have to endure my devilness, but the Child’s only sin would be having me as its father.” He said this with such anguish, the words seemed to have been ripped from his very soul.

Chloe still had no idea of how to deal with this, she squeezed his hand silently, her eyes brimming with tears, she couldn't fathom what Lucifer must be feeling. Lucifer turned away from her, but not before she saw the torment and tears welling in his eyes. Not before she heard him exhale unsteadily and run his hands through his hair. He desperately clutched the whiskey glass with his free hand, and drained its contents like if they held the solutions to his problems. 

She took a steadying breath, and chose to simply speak from the heart, fervently wishing that it would be enough. 

“Lucifer, if the baby comes out like you, then I shall love them, just as I love their father. I’ll help them, and,” she paused, searching for the right words, “and I’ll turn to you for support and advice, because it seems despite everything you’ve been through, you’ve managed to become a dear friend, a thoughtful brother, a loving partner and a good man.”

He turned to look at her, anguish still in his eyes, “Detective, I don’t want the child to suffer like I did, I don't want them to feel rejected like I was.”

She let go of his hand, so she could lovingly caress his cheek and wipe away the tears that had escaped. “Lucifer, that would never happen, Because our baby would have you for a father”

He looked at her clearly confused, but at least now his eyes held a small spark of light in addition to all his pain. 

“Lucifer, would you reject the baby if it was like you?”

His answer was immediate “Detect... Chloe I could never do that to our child”

She smiled sweetly at him, this complex, broken and loving man. “Then Lucifer, I have no fears concerning our child. I know you weren't raised in a very loving environment, but I was and I can tell you from firsthand experience that love, love makes everything easier.”

Lucifer looked at Chloe like she had grown two heads, how she had managed to dispel his fears with her words he would never understand. But that was his Detective. She literally performed miracles where he was concerned and in that moment the devil said a little prayer of thanks to his father, for truly giving him the most precious gift. He pulled her onto his lap, using his arms to envelope her. He clutched onto her like a drowning man catches at a straw, breathing in deeply as he pressed his lips to her hair. “I love you he whispered into her hair, I love you so much Chloe.”

So now as he looked at his laughing daughter and saw himself in her riotous curls, in her expressive brown eyes the exact same shade as his, in the devilish gleam he would sometimes see in them, in the stubborn set of her jaw and in her already established lust for life, he felt no fear. It was enough that he was her father, she had him and he would be here no matter what.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, sometimes you make plans and then life hits you. I'm sorry this next chapter took so long, but believe me when I say there was a very good reason. Hawaiian bread in this case is actually an egg-in-a-hole sandwich. I called it Hawaiian bread because that's what Chloe's father calls it in the flashback.

“Child, shhh, you’ll wake the Detective if you carry on like this” he said trying to still the squirming child. “No matter that I’ll soon be waking her on my own, for other reasons” he said waggling his eyebrows at the child clearly confused by his words.

“Could we wake Mummy up?” She said with her attention now directed towards the master bedroom. As much as he wanted to involve the Detective in their impromptu family time, she had had a long day at work, then had come home to their very boisterous child. Besides, he might be enjoying the alone time with the Child.

“How about we let the Detective sleep?”

“But, I’m huuungry” she said with an exasperated whine.

“We certainly don’t need the Detective for that Child, I am sure I can manage to feed you”

“But I want Hawaiian bread” she said pouting up at him. “And Mummy makes the bestest Hawaiianbread ever”

“Hawaiian bread you say…I’ll make you some, I’m a bit peckish myself actually” he said as he stood and placed the Child down.

His daughter looked up at him skeptically, “Are you sure you can make Mummy’s special Hawaiian bread? She said with her eyes darting to the bedroom where her mother slept.

“Yes” he said a little peeved, “I’m sure I can manage to make a simple sandwich Child, come along now”he offered her his hand to hold if she was so inclined. She happily grasped it and skipped along beside him.

“Bestest Hawaiian bread” he grumbled to himself. He had taught the culinary arts to some of the best, and yet here he was having his skills compared to the Detective’s sandwich. They made their way to the kitchen, part of the renovations they had made to the penthouse years ago after the Detective and Beatrice had started spending more time here, because apparently it wasn’t “normal” to order out for every meal.

Lucifer got out the necessary ingredients from the pantry and fridge and set about preparing them. The Child pulled up a kitchen stool and looked at him expectantly.

“Well? What is it Child?”

“Mummy always lets me help when she’s making Hawaiian bread ” she said with her brown eyes bright.

“Suppose she would” he said thoughtfully, Beatrice had always helped the Detective as well “Why don't you sit on the counter and you can cut the holes in the bread”

She rewarded him with a wide toothy grin “Thank you!”

“Not with a knife mind you!” he said quickly snatching the knife out of her reach “I’m not making that mistake again” he softened the rebuke with a quick ruffle of her hair.

Three ruined slices of bread, countless unsolicited pieces of advice on the “Mummy’s way of doing things” and ten minutes later, they had two, albeit wonky sandwiches on the griddle. He scooped the first one up and placed it on a dish. He was just about to pick it up and take a bite out of it when the Child pulled the plate to herself.

“I’m smaller, so I get to go first” she said smirking at him.

Lucifer would have reason to beexasperated if he wasn’t the one who had taught her the expression in the first place. She had probably heard him use his size as an excuse to get the first slice or piece of something countless times.

“Cheeky little devil” he said, picking up his own sandwich with a wide grin.

“So whats the verdict child?” He asked as he took a bite of his sandwich, “Is it as good as the Detective’s bestest Hawaiian bread?”

She appeared to seriously consider the question before she put down her sandwich and gave him two tiny thumbs up.

“A shining review? from THE miss Morningstar?” He exclaimed in mock surprise with his hand on his chest. “An honour to be sure. This calls for celebration does it not? _”_

The Child giggled up at him and held a tiny hand up for a high-five, which he happily gave her.

The sandwich was good but the Child did have a point, the Detective’s Hawaiian bread was far better than his. The simple domesticity of enjoying this particular sandwich with his daughter made him remember all the other times Hawaiian bread had made an appearance in the “Deckerstar” household. Every birthday, special occasion and Christmas morning had all been celebrated with one of these sandwiches as per Beatrice’s request.

Their very first Christmas together had started off similarly. With Beatrice sitting at the kitchen island, barely able to focus on eating as she had already seen the presents piled beneath the tree. The same tree she herself had insisted on them going to pick out. They had made a day out of it, the three of them piling into the Detective’s car with Christmas carols playing on repeat despite the LA heat.

Trixie was practically bouncing off the seat, “I cant believe you’ve never celebrated Christmas before Lucifer!, this is going to be so fun” she said had said almost all at once without taking a breath. Twenty minutes into the ordeal Lucifer had already drained the contents of his flask. Beatrice had been very particular in her requirements, the tree had to be _perfect._ After all it was their first Christmas together. It was endearing to watch her consider each tree seriously before she came back to the Detective and him to give her final assessment; one was too skinny, another one too “piney.” It was hard however, not to let the little urchins infectious enthusiasm affect him, seeing as all her efforts were going towards him enjoying Christmas. So despite the L.A heat, he was quite content to lazily stroll around with the Detective at his side as they made their way from tree to tree, making inappropriate jokes and occasionally commenting on Beatrice's observations.

“This one Mommy!” She had finally cried out coming to pull the detective away. As he had started to follow he had been rebuked with a firm, “Wait here Lucifer, I want to make sure its the right one before you see it”

He watched the two of them walk to a group of trees a short distance away, the Detective almost tripping over her own feet, because of how fast Beatrice was pulling her along. He was still laughing quietly to himself when, “You have a beautiful family” came from somewhere behind him. Lucifer turned around to see an elderly woman in an attendants vest, who was also looking at where the Detective stood beside a bouncing Beatrice.

“And the little one is gorgeous, looks just like you”she said with a sunny smile.

“They’re not, she’s not ….” He started also looking at them, but Beatrice had started vigorously waving him over. The woman smiled even more widely at Beatrice’s performance.

“Thank you” he said, “It seems that I’m needed” gesturing to the bobbing child, he started towards them.

“Of course, I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas!”

Still reeling from what he had just heard he walked to where the Detective and Beatrice stood. After the initial shock of having them be addressed as his family had worn off Lucifer found that he didn't mind it at all. It felt nice, felt right somehow. Family had always had a different meaning to him, while it evoked feelings of warmth and love in others, all he could think about was the rejection and pain he had felt at the hands of his. But when he thought about the Detective and her spawn, he could see why people gushed about their partners and children, the intense feeling of being wanted, of wholly belonging to someone else was incredible. The Detective had proven herself time and time again, with her ability to love him despite himself. He trusted her completely and he wouldn’t mind trying again if it was with her, her and that little urchin. However this was no time for deep contemplation, they had a Christmas tree to select.

He walked over to his .. family, lifted Beatrice into his arms and gave the Detective a firm kiss.

“Lucifer?”She said surprised at his sudden display of affection, “What was that for?”

“What was what for ?” He said placing a kiss on Beatrice's cheek.

She looked up at him puzzled. He gave her his signature charming smile, and booped her nose.

“Come along ladies, where’s this perfect tree ?”

They had bought the biggest tree in the lot, and put countless scratches in Lucifer’s marble floors while getting it into the penthouse, but Lucifer hadn’t voiced a simple complaint. Chloe didn’t know why but he was acting very oddly. This strange behaviour continued in the days leading up to Christmas. To her surprise, Lucifer had helped her and Trixie bake cookies, he had of course promptly started a flour fight with Trixie which had ended with them all covered in flour from head to toe, as white as sheets, and while she had also had to smack him with a spatula when he had taken to drawing inappropriate cookie shapes, he had done it all in his “Lucifer way,” making everything throughly enjoyable. He had sat by Trixie and her while they had strung popcorn along stings for the tree, silently eating the popcorn off the opposite end. When Chloe had noticed and smacked him, he had eaten the popcorn faster and given her that crooked smirk that never failed to warm her heart. He had helped them put up the baubles and garlands being as inappropriately appropriate as possible with the lingering touches he had given “to help steady her” or “help her reach the higher branches.” And when it was time to put the star on the tree, he had lifted Trixie despite her complaints of being too heavy for Lucifer to carry, so she could place it on the top of the tree.

The night before Christmas, they had all huddled together on the sofa to watch cheesy Christmas movies. Lucifer had practically pulled her into his lap, and had even allowed Trixie to snuggle up to him. They had turned everything apart from the television off so only the only other source of light was the warm glow of the fire. He had of course made snide comments the whole time, but he had watched the entire 3 movies with them. By the middle of Elf, they had changed positions so Lucifers head rested in her lap. Trixie had long since fallen asleep with her feet tucked under Lucifer's back. Chloe had been running her hands through his hair, the curls possessively gripping her fingers when his voice brought her out of her thoughts;

“This is lovely Detective, I can see why the Child likes it so much”

“Hmm, I would never have pegged you for a chocolate spaghetti man”

She felt the low rumble of his laugh against her stomach. His hand came up to still hers still in his hair.

“I meant this, all of this, it’s …lovely, thank you for sharing this with me Detective”

What did one say to that? Sometimes she forgot how strange and foreign this must all be to Lucifer, it was probably a big change of pace from what he was used to. She couldn’t understand how he could possibly be enjoying a quiet night at home with Trixie and herself and sometimes she wondered if he missed his previous fast paced lifestyle. But as strange as it seemed, the Devil didn’t seem to mind being a “shoe” as he had once called it.

Sheresumedher previous stroking of his hair, “You, my love, are very much welcome.”

They had spent the rest of the night like this, cozied up on the sofa, until Lucifer carried Trixie to her bed, and they sought theirs out as well.

“Monkey, the sooner you have breakfast the sooner we can start opening presents” the Detective said smiling fondly at Beatrice. The Child looked like the last thing on her mind was eating, she had eyes only for the large pile of presents he and the Detective had added under the tree after she had been put to bed. But nevertheless, she had scarfed down her Hawaiian bread faster than he would have thought possible for one with such a small mouth. Thusly, breakfast had been a rushed affair, ending with Beatrice pulling both him and the Detective into the living room their cups of coffee still in hand.

“Can I open the big one first?” She said bouncing in place.

“Go on Monkey, that one is from Lucifer.”

Chloe was also curious as to what Lucifer had gotten Trixie. He had been tight lipped about it for weeks “I can’t very well let you in on it, I’m sure you’ll tip the little urchin off” he’d said each time she had asked him. They sat on the sofa sipping their coffee and watched Trixie make quick work of the wrapping.

“Oh my God! Lucifer! its soooo cooool, Mom look!”

Lucifer narrowed his eyes at the mention of his father, but smiled none the less.

“I assure you my Child, father had no part in your gift selection.”

“It’s awesome Lucifer, thank you so much” Trixie ran up to Lucifer, pulled him into a hug and for good measure, placed a kiss on his cheek.

Lucifer looked down at her with a sheepish smile “Well, Child, You are most welcome. I only hope it brings you happiness”

Lucifer had gotten her 11 year old, what seemed to be a very professional looking telescope, which was rimmed in silver and stood on a tripod larger than the child herself. In hindsight, she should probably have set a spending limit on Christmas gifts, it had probably come with a very expensive price tag attached to it. Of course he didn’t understand what would and wouldn’t make an appropriate gift for a child.

“Lucifer its not nothing, She’s 11, and she doesn’t even know how to use one”

That had gotten her two dirty looks from Lucifer and Trixie who were now hunched around the telescope, whispering to themselves. They ignored her and went back to their muffled discussion. Chloe moved closer so she could follow their conversation.

“And this dial here Child, changes the focus, there are ten settings,” she didn’t catch the other parts of the conversation only the very end “perhaps someday I could show you the stars.”

It was adorable to watch their shared enthusiasm over Lucifer’s present and the fact that Lucifer had volunteered to spend time alone with Trixie warmed her heart.She happily sipped at her coffee as she continued watching Lucifer give Trixie a crash course on the different functions and features, he was almost as animated as the child he was talking to. He was so patient with her, answering every possible question Trixie could come up with. She would bet that Lucifer had done enough research to become an expert on telescopes, just so he could properly instruct her.

“Thanks Lucifer! I want to open my other presents now” Trixie announced after 10 minutes of fawning over the telescope.

Chloe winced internally, hopefully Trixie’s childish attention span didn’t hurt Lucifer’s feelings. But Lucifer simply chucked Trixie on the chin and joined her on the couch with a wide grin. Trixie started on her next present while Lucifer reached for his coffee.

“I think she liked the gift, don’t you?” He whispered uncertainly to her.

She smiled into her coffee cup, he always sought her reassurance in situations like this, as if his own assessment of emotional situations wasn’t enough. She grasped his free hand, “She loved it Lucifer,” he looked up at her uncertainty still in his eyes, “truly she did.” He answered her with that crooked smile she loved so much, which immediately lead to the intense eye contact between them that almost always ended the same way, with Chloe happily engaged for the next hour or two. This time however they were interrupted by a squeal. Chloe peered over Trixie’s shoulder to see what had made her daughter scream with such glee, and her eyes widened at the sight. She was going to kill Maze.

“No, nope Trixie babe, you cannot play with those” those, being an assortment of throwing knives, with colourful sparkly handles. 

“But Mom, Maze promised to teach me how to throw them”she retorted in a petulant tone.

“Nope, absolutely not” she said taking the knives away from her daughter, and making a mental note to once again ask Maze to stop giving Trixie knives. She took the knives into the master bedroom and to try and find a suitable hiding place. She was hiding them from Lucifer just as much as she was hiding them from Trixie. Given the chance Trixie would weasel them out of Lucifer in no time, if he knew where they were. His soft spot for Trixie sometimes made parenting quite difficult. She returned to the living room to find the duo in question whispering between themselves, mischievous smiles plastered on their faces, as thick as thieves. When they noticed her return they quickly broke apart, each of them trying not to look suspicious.

“Well Detective, I’ve been told it’s high time for me to give you your gift” Lucifer said looking conspiratorially at Trixie. He was standing in front of her with his hands concealing something behind his back.

“You’re going to love it Mom” Trixie said from her new position beside her “in fact, I think you should sit down”

“Child, let’s not put an obligation on your mother to like it before she’s seen it” Lucifer admonished lightly.

It was apparently time again for Chloe to deal with a hesitant Lucifer, who seemed unsure of himself ashe pulled something small and covered in felt from behind his back, it seemed to be a jewellery box of some sorts. At the sight of the box, Chloe’s heart was already racing, the last time he had given her jewellery he had branded his name onto her heart permanently.

“Detective, this is just a small token of my regard, and my love” they both looked at Trixie who was beaming at Lucifer’s declaration. Trixie had guessed the state of their relationship before they had even told her about it, and had been as relieved as the rest of their friends. 

She took the box from Lucifer’s out stretched hand,his thumb stroking the length of the back of her hand as she did. He gave her a small smile as he did so. She opened the small box to see the one of the most unusual things she had ever seen. The box housed a pair of earrings and a matching necklace of delicate gold, but Chloe couldn’t recognise the gem stones intricately framed and set in the gold. At first she thought that Lucifer may have had his ring cut to make this new set for her, but there was an ethereal nature to what she was seeing. They were more than the just the black of his ring, they seemed to be the darkest black, so dark that the blackness seemed almost fluid in its self, they seemed almost to be small voids, but at the same time they emitted light from within, the tiny specks of light having a wide spectrum of colours. As she moved the box, the positions of the light specks and their colour changed as well, almost as if they were, as funny as it sounded, alive. It looked like a piece of the night sky, that was the closest comparison Chloe’s mind could come up with. The set was breathtakingly beautiful and mesmerising, she almost felt as if she could get lost peering into them. 

“ Lucifer, I don’t know what to say they're beautiful”

“Oh, Detective it’s nothing” he said looking at her with a shy smile. 

“What, what kind of stone is it?”

“It’s not a stone, it’s stardust Mom! Lucifer told me so” Trixie said reaching out to touch the necklace reverently.

“Stardust?” Chloe asked in disbelief. She looked from Trixie, to Lucifer and back at the jewellery in question. She didn’t understand how, but she instinctively knew that it was true, Lucifer had somehow found a way to make her jewellery out of actual stars.

“How?” She asked looking up at him.

“Well, the Devil has to keep some mysteries to himself Detective, what’s important is that you like them” he paused “You do like them don’t you?”

“Of course I do, I love them” she said looking at her present once more.

“Mom? Aren’t you going to kiss him?” Trixie said with mock incredulity as she shook her head.

She giggled at her daughter. “Oh I most certainly am.” and Chloe did just that. She stood and gave Lucifer a lingering kiss mindful of the little girl watching them and when he pulled her in for an embrace, she whispered into his ear “What do I give in return to the man who gives me stars?”

He chuckled low next to her ear, “Maybe you could give him your heart?” She heard the uncertainty in his voice.

“I couldn’t possibly give his something he’s owned from the start”

“Detective …”he groaned as he pulled her more firmly against him.

“I love you” they said this to each other in unison.

* * *

It was much later in the day, they had spent most of it watching Beatrice open the rest of her presents and opening presents of their own. But now it was time for Lucifer and the urchin to give the Detective her “secret present”. About a month ago, the little hellion had walked up to where he sat at the bar, and demanded that he make a deal with her. She had wanted to do something special for her mother, and in return she would give him all the money she had saved. Lucifer had laughed at that, seeing as most of that money had either come from him bribing her to say she wanted to spend time over at Daniel’s so he and the Detective could have some more “time” together, or from whatever she got up to in her time spent with Maze. He had already decided to help her, but would tactfully decline the money.

“What deal are you trying to strike Child?” He said, a bit amused “I must remind you I am under strict orders not to buy you any more chocolate cake”

“I’d like you to teach me how to play a song on the piano” she said confidently, like her mother she knew that the Devil would just about do anything for her. 

“Why not just buy her an album child? Surely that would be easier on all of us” he shuddered thinking of her sticky fingers sliding across his piano. When she didn’t respond Lucifer looked over at her only to see her forlorn expression. He kicked himself mentally for being the one to cause her any sort of discomfort.

“Child, I’m sorry, I will of course teach you whatever song you what to know” she immediately perked up at his words. “What song is it by the way?” He asked taking a sip of his drink.

“My mum always talks about how her dad would play and sing _“O Holy night”_ every Christmas Eve, she mentions it every Christmas andI know she misses him, so I thought it might be a good present if I played it for her this Christmas. What do you think? I could even try to sing?”

It was Lucifer’s turn to be speechless. Of all the scenarios he could have imagined, he never would have thought of something so gut-wrenchingly painful. The relationship between the Detective and her spawn, although he didn’t completely understand it, was something beautiful. He placed a hand on her shoulder and tried to swallow past the lump in his throat.

“I would be honoured to help you Beatrice”

  
The next month had involved finding excuses to spend time with Beatrice without the Detective getting suspicious. Eventually he had to start visiting her while she was at Daniels. Several late nights had found him instructing the hellion on piano, something which had taught Lucifer new depths of patience. She was however an excellent pupil, and was after only a month fairly proficient. Lucifer had enjoyed having someone else to play with, perhaps if she wanted to, they could even continue their lessons. 

“Mommy, come and sit, Lucifer and I want you give our your present”

At this he looked at the child, she had called it “their” present, she sometimes did things like this, little things like asking where Lucifer’s piece of cake was when she was getting one herself, asking if Lucifer was allowed to join them for dinner, or a movie, that spoke so much of the kindness and thoughtfulness she had inside her. She had slowly wormed her way into his heart, that little urchin.The Detective happily obliged her daughter and sat where she was directed. As Beatrice came to sit beside him at the piano, the detective gave him a curious look, to which he responded with a wink.

“And now, the musical stylings of Beatrice Espinoza and Lucifer Morningstar” he announced in an exaggerated accent.

The Detective looked shocked but broke into applause,“Mom, could you keep the applause for the end?” The little urchin had mimicked Lucifer’s tone and accent so closely that it was hard for him to keep a straight face.

Much like Lucifer and the Detective had that one time, Lucifer and Beatrice started the piece together. This time however, Lucifer was only accompanying Beatrice, the Child was playing majority of the piece, her little brow furrowed in concentration. Based on the Detective’s smile she was already appreciative of the present, but she still hadn’t heard the best part.

Beatrice started to sing, and if she was proficient on the piano, it didn’t even compare to her singing voice. The little miscreanthad the voice of an angel, and Lucifer would know. He had heard the Child singing for over a month now, and still every time she opened her mouth to sing, he was awestruck. The Detective however was only hearing it for the first time. Lucifer watched her expression grow from excited, to recognition of the song and the significance of its choice, and finally to unbelief. He watched the tears pool in her eyes, until they got too heavy for her lashes and silently streamed down her cheeks as she listened to her child sing her the song of her own childhood. He accompanied Beatrice in singing as well, the differences in their voices contrasting yet complementing one another. 

When they reached the bridge Lucifer let Beatrice’s voice shine on its own, her incandescent “ _fall on your knees”_ almost had him on his every time he heard it, and by the look on the Detective’s face it had the same effect on her.

They finished their performance by slowly fading into silence. No one said anything, and nothing could be heard but the Detective’s quiet sobs. She stood, tears still streaming down her face and firmly pulled Beatrice into her embrace. He watched mother and child hug themselves with a wistful smile on his face. The Detective didn’t look up, only extended her arm to bring Lucifer into the hug.

“Thank you so much, you don’t know how much this means to me”

“So you liked it Mom?”

“Of course I did Monkey”

“It wasn’t just me though, Lucifer helped," after a pause she added "a loooott”

“I’m sure he did” The Detective looked up at him tears still in her eyes, and mouthed “ _I love you”_ at him, before placing a tender kiss at the corner of his mouth, an effect he ruined by smiling into it.

* * *

Lucifer kept hearing giggling coming from the kitchen, intermingled with loud whispering from Beatrice. “Mummy can we show him now ?” He heard from his place at the piano.

“What are those two concocting?” He asked loud enough to be heard from the kitchen. The two “nothings” he got in response were very suspicious. A few moments later Beatrice came back into the room eyes wide with barely controlled excitement.

“Lucifer could you come to the kitchen? I have a surprise for you” she barely gave him time to respond, he was already being pulled off the bench. He allowed her to lead him to the kitchen by the hand, her little one feeling very small in his. When he entered the kitchen, there was a very oddly shaped mass on the counter, adorned in red wrapping paper and glitter. The label attached to the middle of the monstrosity read LUCIFER with a small devil doodle beside it. The Detective was standing at the counter it with barely controlled laughter.

“What’s this Detective?”

“No, it's from me Lucifer!” I hope you like it she said with a massive grin. She pushed the present over to him, causing it to leak some sort of fluid. He eyed the parcel suspiciously.

“What on earth ?”

The Detective and Beatrice took in Lucifers horrified expression, and continuedtheir laughter from before. It was a wonderful sight to behold, there hadn't been a lot of laughter in his life before her, before them, so he simply took it in.Now his days seemed to be filled with endless laughter and love. Chloe caught his wistful look and smiled back at him in that special way of hers.

“Wait don’t open it yet, I want to see” Beatrice exclaimed as she climbed a kitchen stool, breaking he and the Detective’s eye contact.

“Well, this is a surprise to be sure” he said taking apart the now sopping wet wrapping paper. It was a bowl, which contained a brilliant crimson fish, with large ruffled fins.

“Well”… Lucifer started

“I wanted to get you a real shark, I know you’ve always wanted one but my Mom said no” Beatrice said looking at the Detective through narrowed eyes “ But I thought maybe instead, I could get you this fish, its a Betta fish, its supposed to be really cool, and I thought maybe you could call it Shark, you know until you can get a real Shark” she delivered the last sentence with her voice wavering towards the end.

“Well, Beatrice….”

“You don't like it?” She asked avoiding his eyes.

“Beatrice, of course I do, I don't quite know what to say” he really didn’t, he hadn’t expected anything to be honest and certainly not such a thoughtful gift from the little urchin. He’d always wanted a shark, quite perceptive of the little human. Her work around not being able to buy him a real shark was innovative and he couldn't help but smile to himself. He opened his arms to invite her into a hug, which she practically ran into.

“Thank you ever so much, for such a wonderful gift Beatrice” he said as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

“You're welcome Lucifer” she said squeezing him harder.

“So the whole time we were sneaking around you were hiding your own plans from me ?” Beatrice smiled up at him mischievously “Mhm” she said clearly very proud of herself.

“Well played, Child, well played” he said with actual pride in his voice."Next time..." they both looked up at the Detective, and instead started whispering to themselves. 

Chloe admired the wonderful picture Lucifer and Trixie posed, in their matching Christmas pyjamas, the same pyjamas that Lucifer was loath to wear , and was only doing so because Trixie and she had practically begged him the whole week. It was part of the new “Deckerstar” family tradition, something they could do next year as well. Dan would always be Trixie's father, but she loved the idea of them having their own little family, she, her little Monkey and her Lucifer.

“Okay, Monkey bed time !” She said breaking up their hug. Lucifer gave Trixie one more squeeze and a kiss good night before she went off to bed. Chloe started to follow, but Lucifer held her back by her hand and drew her in for a kiss.

“I’ll just put her to bed” she said as she placed another kiss on his lips.

“Good because I’ve still a sprig of mistletoe that I have every intention of getting my moneys worth out of” he said waggling his eyebrows at her.

When Chloe returned to the kitchen Lucifer was standing in the kitchen watching “Shark” swim around the bowl. Chloe walked towards him, slipped her hands around his waist from behind and placed a kiss in the middle of his back.

“Hmm” he murmured contently, his voice vibrating against her face through his chest.

“What do you think about your Shark ?”

“ ‘Tins’t a real Shark” she could feel the smirk he had on his face just from his tone. She smiled into his back as she took in his scent, she had always loved the way he smelled. There was something so soothing about it.

“You haven't opened your gift from me” she said against his back.

“Hmm” he said turning around in her arms to face her, “You’ve. Given. Me. More. Than. I. Could Ever. Have. Asked. For, Detective.” He punctuated each word with a kiss.

She slipped him the small black box she had been carrying. “Merry Christmas Lucifer”

He gave her that small crooked smile of his, making her grin back at him. He spun them around and placed her on the counter, and stepped between her legs giving her a lingering kiss.

“Whatever it is I’ll love it”

“Why don't you open it first?” she said giggling. He placed one more kiss on the tip of her nose for good measure and finally turned his attention to the box.

Lucifer untied the back ribbon around the box, and removed the lid. It held a solid black pocket watch with a small simple stylised “L” on the outside. He looked up at the Detective, “Its lovely Detective” she smiled sweetly up at him. He took the watch out of the box and turned it over.

He released the latch to open it, it was exquisite. The watch face was partially transparent, so the golden cogs were exposed. But on the other side of the cover,he was greeted with a picture of him, the Detective and Beatrice smiling happily at the camera, with a small inscription underneath it that said _“Always”_

Lucifer was at a loss for words. The gift itself was wonderful, simple and classy, perfectly suited to his tastes. But the picture and inscription brought back the memory of what had happened at the Christmas tree farm, and how much he wished it was true. That the Detective and the spawn were indeed his, his… family. Looking at the picture now, he could see why they would look like a “normal” family, Beatrice did look like she could be his, especially as in the pictureshe had adopted his exact same head tilt. He’d lived for millennia, but he couldn't remember ever feeling so happy, feeling like he belonged. But the trouble with being so happy all the time was that Lucifer kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for something to wrench them away from him again, just like it always did. Perhaps something of his father’s doing, or more likely his own.

As Dr. Linda had been telling him, it was time to stop living in the past, dwelling on previous experiences and focus on what he had now, what he was feeling now. He was tired of running from it, from his feelings, this was the happiest he had ever been, and if it did end like he feared, then memories of them would be enough, after all, one tear stained kiss had sustained him throughthousands of years in hell. They had already given him enough happiness to last his life time. 

But did the picture even mean what he thought it did? Perhaps there was no deeper meaning to it and the Detective had just chosen it at random and he was once again reading too much into things.

Or maybe the Detective was offering him a place in her family, maybe she wanted to belong to him, just as much as he belonged to her.

Chloe watched Lucifer study the watch and suddenly felt a little nervous. She had kept drawing blanks on what to get him, but had eventually settled on the pocket watch, something classy that she thought he would like, however she had impulsively added the inscription and a picture of them. She knew what they had was still new, but before she had made the decision to completely dive into them, she’d known that it would mean completely accepting Lucifer for all that he was, and that also meant accepting that he didn’t do anything in half measures, so the word “always” had seemed appropriate.

“I didn't know if you would prefer a watch to a new flask, and also about the colour, I don't know, I thought you would like the black", and catching where his gaze was directed she added "you could also change the picture if you wanted to”she added at the end.

“Detective why did you choose this picture?” He asked still looking down at it.

“I thought you might want to have a picture of us” she said quickly. “I have one of the three of us in my wallet, I don’t know, I just thought it would be nice for you to have one of us too, that you could carry around, you can change it if you want …. She trailed off realising that she was rambling. 

“A picture of your family, Detective?”

“Well, yes a picture of our family” she could barely get the sentence out as Lucifer was already kissing her. When he finally reluctantly let her up for breath, he picked up the watch again and stared at it.

“Detective, please don’t… don’t promise me something you don’t mean, I couldn’t bear it the first time when, …he took in a shuddering breath."I wouldn't survive it" 

“Lucifer,”… he looked up at her warily. I can’t pretend to understand what you went through, but believe me when I say this, _“Always”_

* * *

“Did you remember to feed Shark today?” He said looking at his beloved pet on its established spot on the kitchen counter. This wasn’t the original Shark, the poor thing had passed away after 5 happy years of swimming around its bowl. He had honestly missed the little thing, so he had bought another fish, and another after that.

She nodded up at him “Yes I always remember” she had taken her duties very seriously, and would sometimes refuse her own breakfast until after Shark was fed, quite strong willed for one who was so small. He had no idea where she got it from he thought smiling to himself.

“I know you do” he said still smiling at her as he booped her nose. She gave him another one of her wide toothy grins in return.

He pulled out his pocket watch to check the time, it was almost half 12, he should really get the Child back to bed. Before he closed the watch, he paused at the now weathered picture, and ran his thumb across the now familiar grooves, now a bit polished from all the times he had done so in the past. He did so to remind himself of the deal one human had made for the Devil's very soul. Lucifer had every intention to hold his Detective to her promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is mainly about Trixie and not the Deckerstar baby, but I've always wanted a Deckerstar Christmas.  
> As always thank you so much for reading, please leave comments and feedback :)


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